President Bola Tinubu has appointed Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, replacing Mele Kyari.
The President also dismissed the NNPC Limited board chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, replacing him with Ahmadu Musa Kida. All other board members who were appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023 have also been removed.
Announcing the changes, Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga stated, “The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.”
President Tinubu appointed Adedapo Segun, who took over as Chief Financial Officer in November 2023, to the restructured board. Additionally, six non-executive directors were appointed to represent the country’s geopolitical zones:
• Bello Rabiu – North West
• Yusuf Usman – North East
• Babs Omotowa – North Central (former MD of NLNG)
• Austin Avuru – South-South
• David Ige – South West
• Henry Obih – South East
Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
President Tinubu, exercising his authority under Section 59, Subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, emphasized that the board’s restructuring aims to enhance operational efficiency, restore investor confidence, boost local content, and drive economic growth.
As part of its immediate mandate, the new board is expected to conduct a strategic review of NNPC’s portfolio of assets, ensuring they align with the company’s value maximization objectives.
Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has pursued oil sector reforms to attract investment, leading to $17 billion in new investments last year. The government aims to increase this to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.
Additionally, the administration targets raising crude oil production to 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and 3 million barrels per day by 2030. Gas production is also expected to rise to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet daily by 2030.
On refining capacity, President Tinubu has tasked the new board with increasing NNPC’s share of crude refining to 200,000 barrels per day by 2027 and 500,000 barrels per day by 2030.
With these sweeping changes, the Tinubu administration is reinforcing its commitment to transforming Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, positioning it for long-term growth and global competitiveness.
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